Wilderness Health 

Every year, I go on a camping trip to the Smith River for a week. We are more than 30 miles from the nearest town and cell phone access is poor.

The Smith River is in the northern part of California. When you look at a terrain map of the area you see, “Rattlesnake Creek”, “Rattlesnake Lake” and “Rattlesnake Butte” – leading you to believe that there are rattlesnakes in the area.

I recently had a young client who was bitten by a snake here in Sonoma County and that caused me to be more concerned about the possibility of such an occurrence on my trip.

While rattlesnake bites are rare, they are potentially life-threatening. The best way to deal with rattlesnakes is to avoid them if at all possible. They don’t like people and will generally avoid you if they have a chance to get away.

Don’t step over logs or rocks without checking first, don’t go into a wilderness area alone, don’t run screaming into bushes that you haven’t flushed.

Baby rattlesnakes are even more dangerous than adults, they are poisonous from birth, don’t know to avoid humans and don’t let go once they’ve sunk their fangs in so you get more venom.

If you do get bitten don’t panic. Get away from the snake as fast as you can. Get help from your companions right away. If you have access to cool water, have the bite rinsed off and apply a cool cloth over it. Remove all jewelry and restrictive clothing before swelling begins.

This is all you need to do if you can get to an emergency department in less than an hour.

If you are further away, you should be sure to carry a Sawyer Extraction Pump (these are available at outdoor stores and drugstores) you can use the pump to extract some of the venom right away.

You can also wrap the area with an ace bandage just above the bite. Wrap it no tighter than you would wrap for a sprained ankle, you don’t want to apply a full tourniquet, you just want to slow down circulation to the area.

The best position of the bitten area is neutral, you want to keep it from circulating to your heart but also prevent swelling. Elevation will send it straight to the heart and keeping it low will cause more swelling.

Don’t cut, bite or suck the venom out, don’t try to catch or kill the snake, don’t apply ice and don’t eat or drink anything.

Get to the hospital as fast as you can and if possible get an ambulance to take you, it is dangerous to drive yourself or have a friend drive you.

It is said that 60 percent of snake bites are dry, without venom but you can’t take that risk, you should get to the emergency room where there is antivenin available in case it is needed.

In the next column I will share with you other first aid issues in the wilderness and what I include in my unusual first aid kit.

Other problems in the wilderness are much more common but also much less deadly than a rattlesnake bite. You can carry with you most of what you need to be prepared.

The most common problem on our trip was minor burns from the campfire or touching hot metal. A wonderful Chinese herbal burn cream called Ching Wan Hong stops pain instantly and seems to prevent blistering. If applied immediately, it even helps people with irritated rashes from sunburns. It is available at health food stores.

Let me just say right now that I hate mosquitoes. They are my personal peeve and if someone could find the perfect solution I would buy stock in that company. I have tried many herbal products to prevent mosquito bites and have not found one that works really well. They seem to work a little only if you put them on frequently and make sure you cover every inch of yourself. DEET – a chemical bug deterrent – is very effective but is probably toxic to the liver and may stay in your fat cells for a long time. Some justify its use by saying that they only use it one week a year. This may be okay for adults, but I worry about using it with children who are small and often more sensitive. I guess the most effective way to treat smaller kids is to cover them with clothes at dusk, slather them in citronella and then let them continue to run and play. Other than hiding in your tent is the best mosquito-preventive is smoke. People often laugh to see me bundled up in many clothes with a bandanna wrapped around my forehead, puffing on a cigar in front of the fire. I feel it is safer to do that than spray my body with DEET.

Poison oak is common in all the lowlands of California. Many people are terribly allergic to it. Again, prevention is the best policy – watch where you walk and where you put your stuff if you know poison oak is nearby. If you are exposed, wash immediately using fels naptha soap or a product called Tecnu – both remove the oils from the skin and prevent them from causing a rash. If you get a rash, there are two very effective homeopathic remedies available at most health food stores in 12X or 30C potency. Rhus Tox.can be taken by mouth up to every 15 minutes until the rash disappears. The other remedy, sulfur, works more sporadically by drying the rash but can also be taken every 15 minutes until you notice a result.

Do not go hiking alone in the wilderness without letting someone know where you are. If you don’t return when expected someone can look for you. Always take a cellular phone; water, extra clothes and if you go to rattlesnake country have a kit with you.

Things I carry in my unusual first aid kit include: Rhus tox at 12X potency and Tecnu for poison oak; Arnica 12X – a homeopathic remedy for sprains, strains and bruises; Arnica gel to apply topically; Ching Wan Hong for burns; cigars and herbal bug spray; snake bite stuff.

The usual assortment of bandages and ace wraps for minor traumas. Other homeopathic remedies for things like stomachaches or hangovers – Nux. Vomica; Aconite for acute trauma or colds; and Ipecachuana for vomiting. Pepto-bismol is good for diarrhea and heartburn.

You probably can’t always have a doctor along when you go camping so keep various risks in mind when getting ready to go. It will make the trip much more fun if you are prepared for minor injuries.